


Campfire

by philophrosynae



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 02:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20593022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philophrosynae/pseuds/philophrosynae
Summary: Byleth helps Dimitri find peace in a quiet moment.[post time-skip]





	Campfire

She rolled over, shifting her arms and shaking her head at sleep’s desperate attempts to hold her. Despite her grogginess, Byleth knew she was needed. She squinted at the faint light being sent out by what remained of their campfire. It wasn’t worth stoking the flames at this point. Dawn would soon overwhelm what lingered in the ashes anyway. 

On the other side of camp, Dedue was already making preparations for breakfast. It wasn’t much—plain tea, hard cheese, and harder bread—but it kept them fed while they moved closer to Empire territory. The rest of the camp was still asleep. Beside her, Byleth heard another muffled “no.” It was the sound that had awakened her in the first place.

Dimitri often started on the other side of the fire. He curled up on himself at night after the rest of their small band of fighters had fallen asleep. His shoulders hunched under the weight of his dirty cloak, heavy with the grime of war and the pain of loss. His fitful tossing always brought him back to Byleth’s side, however, no matter how far away he planted himself to rest. 

But then again, the lonely king hardly ever really rested. He rolled, shouted, and grunted at his dreams. Sometimes he spoke to them, apologizing to the dead for having left them behind. As Dimitri turned more to his friendly, honorable self during the day, the more The Beast clawed at his soul in the dark. 

This morning he was facing her, eyes closed tight, locking himself into a painful memory. At first, when she had tried to help, he had pushed her away. Dimitri’s cold, scarred hands had shoved away any gentle touch she had tried to leave upon his skin. But now, now she knew what to do. Now he knew, even in the depths of the dark, that her hands wanted nothing more than to pull him into the light. 

So when she slid her hand over to him, palm upwards to the sky until her fingertips bumped against his clenched fist, he grabbed her, desperately reeling her in. She knew he would be embarrassed when he awoke. He always blushed and excused himself, either worried he had done something untoward in his sleep or feeling guilty that he had been even a little bit of a burden. But for now, his face only softened. His clenched jaw loosened and the pained lines around his eyes melted away. Byleth’s own shoulders relaxed as she heard his breathing even out into a gentle rhythm. Even though they didn’t have long before they needed to be on their feet, rallying their allies before yet another day’s long and painful march to battle, she allowed herself to indulge in this moment of peace. 

Byleth only smiled as Dimitri tugged her hand closer to his heart, enjoying the love she felt for the man who had helped her learn how to feel.


End file.
